In the tragic drama Hamlet, Shakespeare guides the audience to question whether or not Hamlet is truly mad. Shakespeare leaves the audience to decide if Hamlet is insane or merely angry at women. His extreme, irrational behavior leads people to view him as a madman. Young Hamlet has recently lost his father and has to undergo the hurried marriage of his mother to his uncle, Claudius. It can be argued that the theme of madness is the overall downfall of the eventual tragedy. Throughout Hamlet, Hamlet's madness is portrayed through his real madness, his insanity toward women, and the responses of other characters regarding his madness. .
Hamlet appears to be extremely depressed; mourning the loss of his father and his mother's "incestuous" marriage to his uncle, Claudius. Hamlet's real madness can be viewed as depression, which is causing him to act out in vengeance to cover up his true intentions. His real madness comes from feeling of grief and loneliness because of his mother. When he sees his father's ghost he promises to avenge his death and believes that if he fakes insanity it will prove Claudius' guilt. Hamlet seems to not only have anger towards Claudius but also with his own mother. Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, sees her son talking to the ghost and screams "Alas, he's Mad!" (3.4.1645). Hamlet tells her, "Make you to ravel all this matter out. That I essentially am not in madness. But mad in craft" (3.4.208-1647). This is the first time the audience see's his madness, due to fact that his mother does not see the ghost. Hamlet realizes he cannot hide his madness so he starts to lash out at the evil he sees and start to go back to his depressed, suicidal state of mind.
Gertrude and Ophelia's roles were purposefully placed to help encourage Hamlet's plan of revenge. Hamlet's feelings towards Gertrude was not just out of jealousy but also the love he felt towards her as a mother, and he felt a different type of love towards Ophelia which causes him to pretend madness.